The 29th Annual Dagaaba-Frafra Friendly Games were held at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra yesterday, bringing together members of the two ethnic groups in a celebration of sports, friendship, culture and peaceful coexistence.
The annual event, which has grown from a friendly football match into a major social and cultural gathering, featured a series of sporting competitions, including football, volleyball, sack race, lime and spoon, tug-of-peace and a penalty shootout for senior citizens.
At the end of the competitions, the Frafra contingent won four events, while the Dagaaba secured victories in five, with the men's soccer match ending in a draw.
The Frafra won the men's lime and spoon, men's sack race, women's sack race and women's soccer competitions.
The Dagaaba, on the other hand, emerged winners in the women's lime and spoon, men's volleyball, women's volleyball, women's tug-of-peace and the senior citizens' penalty shootout.
The event was chaired by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Godwin Livinus Bessing, with Dr Matilda Aberese-Ako of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, as Guest of Honour.
Other dignitaries included Justice Gbiel Simon Suurbaareh, Justice of the Supreme Court; Professor Adams Bodomo of the University of Vienna, Austria; Professor Methodius Tuuli, a professor of medicine based in the United States of America; Professor Samuel Atintono, Principal of the Accra College of Education; Dr Anthony Baabereyir, Principal of Fosu College of Education; Brigadier General Dr Richard Naab, Commander of the Military Hospital in Kumasi; and Commodore Raymond Kyaano, Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command.
Also present were Mr Jacob Adongo Atule, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority; Mr Nicholas Dery, National Coordinator of the National Apprentice Programme; Dr Sebastian Sandaare, Member of Parliament for Daffiama-Busi-Issah; Dr Stephen Sondem, a Law Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; and Mr Stephen Bemile, Vice President of Jayee University College.
In his address, Rear Admiral Bessing said the Games were more than a sporting event, describing them as a celebration of a relationship sustained through history, ancestry, culture, trade, intermarriage and shared traditions.
He urged participants and supporters to compete with discipline, respect and sportsmanship, stressing that the ultimate trophy was not merely what teams took home but the friendship, peace and understanding built through the gathering.
Dr Aberese-Ako also urged the Dagaaba and Frafra to jealously protect their enviable peaceful relationship and nurture the youth to embrace and practise it.
She described the Frafra as industrious and the Dagaaba as academically astute, saying the two qualities could complement each other for the development of communities where members of the two groups lived.
She further commended the organisers and called for opportunities for young people serving on the Joint Planning Committee to learn from the current organisers and eventually take over the organisation of the Games.
The 30th anniversary of the Dagaaba-Frafra Friendly Games was also launched during the 29th edition.
Organisers said the 30th anniversary would be expanded into a two-day celebration, with a full day dedicated to cultural activities and performances by artistes from the two regions.
